How do you get new contracts...?

[simes]

As to what I do, I;

1. Stick the CV up on Jobserve, Jobsite, Monster.
2. Find I get get calls from Jobsite and Monster, but
3. Look only on Jobserve as all the jobs are pretty much duplicated across these sites.
4. Also let people know from my LinkedIn contacts that I am around but timing plays a large part in nothing very much coming from that endeavour.
5. Immediately call the agent after hitting Submit Application on Jobserve and get them talking while the CV is landing in their inbox.

As to what your problem areas might be;

1. Poole, and not wanting to relocate or commute.
2. CV might not have all the buzzwords or just not be that attractively competitive.
3. Range and breadth of contracting experience.
4. Not calling the agents. My experience has been positive in this respect. When the CV is a complete match, their digging my CV from the 100s of others actually saves the agent time.

Currently though, the market does seem hopeless. At the time I started my current gig after 3 weeks' being out and looking, I had 30 CVs that had gone past the agent to the client, and I was awaiting feedback on two interviews.

I heard not a jot from any of 'em.

[DS23]

Christ on a bike - my search radius is anywhere in EU while we're still in it, and even CIS, Gulf etc, I think in 20-odd years of contracting I've only had two contracts within 50 miles.....

wss

i'm in scotland at the moment. 2 months ago it was italy for a week and prior to that it was france for 5 months and before that netherlands for 12 months and before that uk for 3 & 18 months etc. i'm ultra niche so i can't afford to *not* go to wherever the contracts are. if you want to succeed you will need to be willing to travel more.

because i'm niche my answers to your questions won't really help much but since you ask: i only work with a small number of specialist agencies. some are better than others but there's not that much in it. i don't ever apply for job on boards (or actively call agents) because if there's a job out there - it'll find me.

[northernladuk]

because i'm niche my answers to your questions won't really help much but since you ask: i only work with a small number of specialist agencies. some are better than others but there's not that much in it. i don't ever apply for job on boards (or actively call agents) because if there's a job out there - it'll find me.

A very nice position to be in. Forgive me for asking but doesn't that present a perfect opportunity to up your offering and get in PSLs etc as a specialist supplier and do away with the agents... Or is it more complex than that?

At one client I got very close to taking their whole function out and supplying it back as a service once and that's in the Service Delivery area so hardly niche. It was only 3 people but it's a start. If you are so in demand I would have thought there were some great opportunities for you.

[MrMarkyMark]

A very nice position to be in. Forgive me for asking but doesn't that present a perfect opportunity to up your offering and get in PSLs etc as a specialist supplier and do away with the agents... Or is it more complex than that?

I'm in a similar position as the OP. The trouble, especially in IB, is the insistence by senior people, that certain people have to be used.
A friend and I have broken through a couple of times, but haven't managed to get a full regular service offering running yet.

Not impossible, might be easier in another industry, for me.

[DS23]

A very nice position to be in. Forgive me for asking but doesn't that present a perfect opportunity to up your offering and get in PSLs etc as a specialist supplier and do away with the agents... .... If you are so in demand I would have thought there were some great opportunities for you.

it's a strategy that i know i should employ with the goal being to create a business that will have value beyond me, myself and i that can generate serious revenue and ultimately be sold off to fund retirement in 10 years. the issues preventing this are 1/ there's not enough of the niche business to enable multi-resource and 2/ even if it was there's nobody out there who i could use (at least, not independent).

my plan is to expand my niche in some way so that i run a specialist team rather than being a niche individual. i've just been waiting for an opportunity to exploit... i *so* nearly had one just recently where i was in direct competition with a large german integrator. i had the inside line (been given the private nod by management) but the proposed start was delayed from May to Sept and my financial director (me) told me to take the next job rather than hold out for a risky option that would need me to start hiring in advance and could so easily go pear shaped and drag the existing business down. others more successful than me would have taken the risk and won out but then others less successful than me would have taken the risk and lost.